Vehicle supported road sander



1366- 1951 E. F. CONNELLY VEHICLE SUPPORTED ROAD SANDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 15, 1946 INVENTOI? EDWARDF. CONNELLY B 9 on av 5 mm m 2. mm mm m E mm om a 6Q N0 AN0 0 0 0 0 m a. on IRQ \0 ATTORNEYS 1951 E. F. CONNELLY 2,577,310

VEHICLE SUPPORTED ROAD SANDER Filed Sept. 13, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2

INVENTOR EDWARD E CON NELLY AT TORNEYS' Dec. 4, 1951 CQNNELLY 2,577,310

VEHICLE SUPPORTED ROAD- SANDER T F|G.6 as u, 76 1 1 i I i i 64 l 0 u |:7 I n F- o 69 67 n I W- 63 1' l 3 66 65 INVENTOI? l EDWARD F. CON NELLY A T TORNE VJ Dec. 4, 1951 CQNNELLY 2,577,310

VEHICLE SUPPORTED ROAD SANDER Filed Sept. 13, 1946 E 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR EDWARD F. CONNELLY A TTOR/VEXS Patented Dec. 4, 1951 VEHICLE SUPPORTED ROAD SANDER Edward F. Connelly, St. Paul, Minn., assignor of one-half to Eva E. Stewart, St. Paul, Minn.

Application September 13, 1946, Serial No. 696,759

1 Claim. (Cl. 275-2) 'This invention relates to apparatus for distributing materials such as sand, ashes, cinders or the like on slippery road surfaces and commonly known as road sanders.

It is an object of the invention to provide a road sander which is adapted to receive sand from the body of a truck and transport it forwardly to a distributor mounted on the front end of the truck, and wherein the power unit for operating the sand transporting conveyor and the distributor as well as the conveyor and distributor themselves are arranged in a readily attachable and detachable manner so that the truck is available for other purposes at times when the spreading of sand an slippery roadways is not required.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a road sander including a distributor and conveyor leading from a point adjacent the under side of the truck body to the distributor wherein the sand flow connection between an outlet in the bottom of the truck body and the inlet of the conveyor is adaptable particularly for use with a dump body and wherein the flow connection in no way interferes with the pivotal movement of the dump body and at the same time provides for proper confinement of the sand as it flows from the dump body to the conveyor outlet.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved distributor unit including a friction drive head and means for controlling it at will to determine the direction in which the sand is discharged from the distributor to meet varying conditions.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a device as described above wherein the conveyor includes a trough and an endless belt, the trough being sectional and the sections being pivotally connected on a horizontal axis in such a way that the weight of the pivoted sections on the pivotal connection is not transmitted to the conveyor belt and its supporting rollers.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the views, and, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a truck with my invention shown thereon, a portion of one of the conveyor sections being broken away; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the forward and intermediate portions of a truck with the sanding apparatus thereon;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken approximately on the line 3'-.-3 of Figure 2;

. Figure 4 is a front elevational view with por- 2 tions of the casing of the apparatus broken to show interior structure;

Figure 5 is a section taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

,Figure 6 is a section taken approximately on the line 6-45 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a partial side elevational view of the rear portion of the apparatus showing the separation of the sand flow connection from the truck body to the conveyor when the body is elevated;

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken away approximately on the line 88 of Figure 2; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view through the distributor head and its friction drive connection.

In the drawings there is shown a truck chassis including side frame members I!) supported by wheels H. The chassis also includes a drivers cab 12 and a tilting dump body l3, the details, of the dumping mechanism being immaterial.

Lying alongside the chassis of the truck is-a conveyor M. The conveyor It includes side mem bers l5 and I6 which are connected at intermediate points by side plates IT. The side plates 11 are connected by upper'and lower spacer rods H! to provide a trough-like casing which is provided with a suitable bottom plate l9 spanning the upper portions of the side members I6. The right-hand or rear end of the conveyor as viewed in Figure 1 is provided with connector plates 20 and spacer bars 18 as in the case of the side plate H. An inlet or mouth 2! is provided at the rear end of the conveyor with a flared upper portion 2 l a, as best shown in Figure 3.

The truck body 13 is provided with ab ottom discharge opening 22 shown in Figure 2. A trans verse slidable plate 23 is suitably secured across the under side of the truck body l3 and said plate 23 provides a controllable opening 24 which permits sand to flow from the interior of the truck body down through the discharge spout 25 suitably secured to the under side of the truck body 13 and about the opening 22. The lower end of the" discharge spout25 is provided-with a flexible and compressible fabric apron 26-shown in Figures 3and 7, and in Figure 3 it will be seen that the lower end of the discharge'spout 25 and its flexible and compressible apron 26 are removably receivable in the flared inlet portion; at the rear end of the conveyor l4, there being no mechanical connection between the spout 25 and the conveyor inlet portion 2!. Consequently, the dump body can be tilted as shown in Figure 7, and then dropped to its normal positionand the discharge spout and conveyor inletwill assume the position of Figure 3 without any mechanical adjustment. v

The slanting conveyor section I4 is pivotally connected to a generally horizontal forward conveyor section Ma. The connection is best shown in Figures 1 and 8. In Figure 8 there is shown a detail of the pivotal connection between the conveyorframe-ortrough members [4 and 14a. The upper portions of the side frame elements (5 and E6 of the conveyor section I4 are shown and they are connected by a cross plate 21 which is also indicated in dotted lines in Figure l. The horizontal conveyor section Ma is provided with side plates lea and lEa which are connected at The subframe, which is part of the apparatus which can be attached to and removed from the truck, includes a relatively narrow channel iron 45 which is connected across the front ends of the truck frame members Hi and secured thereto by any suitable means such as nutted bolts 46. The remainder of the subframe includes a relatively broad channel member 41 whose webs extend downwardly as shown in Figtheir rear or right hand ends by a web 28 shown 1 in Figure 8. The web 28 carries a; bushing 29 which extends inwardly to provide a pivot bearing for the main slanting portion 14 of the conveyor frame structure, the main conveyor side ele ments [5 and I9 and their forward connector plate 21 being rotatable aboutsaidbearins 2.

It should be noted that the bearing 29 is in, the form of a hollow cylinder. Ilxtending through ,the cylindrical, bearings ateach side of the com veyor is a pulley or roller shaft 3.9.; Each, end of the shaft is secured in a bearingcap 3| which is bolted to a plateBZ welded or. otherwise; suitably secured to the web or plate '28 which connects the horizontal stationary conveyor sideframe members l5a and 16a. It is preferred that. ball bearing units 33 be provided in the caps 3| to reduce friction in the support of the shaft 39. A suitable pulley 34 has a central hub portion 35 which is mounted upon the shaft 39 for rctation therewith.

The pivotal connection between the two rela- 'tively movable conveyor frame portions i4 and Ma and'the pivotal mounting of the pulley 34 are on the same axis, but it will be seen that the weight of the conveyor frame elements is in no way transmitted to the bearings for the pulley shaft since they are entirely independently mounted.

A conveyor belt pulley unit is indicated genorally at atthe rear or'right handportion of the pulley as indicated in Figure 1, audit may be provided with a tightener 3! such as is com monly known in the conveyor art. The. details of the rear conveyor pulley mounting 36 anda similar pulley mounting 38 at the forward end of the conveyor are not shown since they are conventional The .rear portion of the slanting conveyor assembly |4 is securedto the frame ID of the truck by means of a bracket 39'which is shown to extend beneath the rearward portion of the conveyor unit l4 and thence upwardly to besecured by suitable means such as nutted bolts 49 which extend through-one of the Webs of the truck frame, as best indicated in Figure 3.

V The forward portion of the stationary generally horizontal conveyor-section 14a has'an end portion 4! which connects the upper and lower conveyor frame elements We and Mia and is in turn connected'to a plate 42 forming a part of the top of a distributor feed casing 43. The conveyor includes an endless belt 44 whose lefture 5. Secured to the subframe channel 45 adjacent one end thereof is an L-shaped bracket 48 whose horizontal portion extends forwardly and rotatably supports a shaft 49 which extends vertically throughout substantially the entire length of the vertically disposed distributor feed casing 43.- Mounted on the lower end of the distributor shaft 49 is a horizontal disc 59 having vertically disposed radial blades 51 In Figure 9 a detail-of this, particular structure is shown. Aflanged collar 52 isrmounted, on the shaft 49 below-the disc 59 and a friction disc 93 is looselrmounted on the shaft w cnlthe upper side ofq he di tributor disc 59 and the inner ends of the dis.- tributor blades-5i. A compression spring 54.115

located on the shaft 49 between the friction disc 53 and a pair of adjustable lock nuts 55. It;i s preferred'that a suitable protective capiifiabe placed over the spring element and lock, nuts-55 so that they will be protected from sand or other suitable materials which pass through the distributor.

The upper-end of the distributor drive shaft 49 is provided with a bevel gear 5'! which inturn meshes with a bevel gearEB on .a stub shaft 59 which is suitably supported by the upper pore tion of the distributor feed casing 4,3.- There, is a sprocket 69 on said stub shaft 59 over. which. a chain 6| runs. Said chain 5|v also extends about a sprocket 62 on a power shaft '93 shown inFig-s ures 4, 5 and 6. The shaft-63 is connected with a speed changing transmission unit 64 which may be of any suitable type, it being understood that said transmission has a neutral or idling position. As shown in Figure 6, a shaft 65 extends from the otherside of. the transmission and car: ries a pinion 66 which is inmesh with and driven by a pinion 67 on the main power shaft 5.3. The shaft 98 extends lengthwise of the sub'irame channel 41 through a suitable housing 69 to a clutch unit '19 indicated in Figure 4, and said. clutch unit is in turn connected to a power unit such as an internal combustion engine H.

In Figure 5 at the forward end of the generally horizontal conveyor section Ma is a horizontal shaft 12 which also serves as the forward conveyor roller shaft whose mounting'is indicated at 38 in Figure 1. The shaft 72 has a sprocket 13 thereon which is connected by a chain 14 to. a sprocket '15. on a lower shaft it which is parallel to and approximately the same levelas theishaft :63 mentioned-above. The-shaft 16 leads to asec-q 0nd chain speed mechanism Tl having a shaft hand or forward end as viewed in Figure 1 ex tends to or partially into the upper end of the distributor feed'casing 43. Secured to the inner sides of the stationary conveyorframeor trough sections are side flaps 4402 which are shown in Figures 2, 3 and 8. As best shown'in Figures 3 and 8; the flaps 54a extend downwardly and somewhat inwardlyinto contact with the conveyor belt and to a great extent prevent sand from working oi the sides of the belt. 5

'18 with a. pinion 79 which also meshes. with the main drive pinion B1 in the manner of the pinion 66 which is in the spreader drive assembly.

The shafts 59, 63, i9 and 16 extend laterally outwardly through the upper portion of the dis tributor feed casing 43 into a'casing 89- Within which the four sprockets shown in Figur 5. and the chains 5| and 74 arelocated.

The clutch 19 connected to and maintained against the internal combustion engine H is provided with a throw-out lever 8| shown in Figure 4. Said lever BI is normally pulled to the 75 right as viewed Figure 4 byaspring 82- which is connected between the lower end of the lever and the underside of the main subframe channel 41. The clutch lever 8| is also connected to a diaphragm unit 83 which may be pneumatically or hydraulically actuated. The diaphragm unit 83 is connected by a conduit 84 to a suitable pressure device which may be conveniently controlled from the cab of the truck.

The distributor feed casing 43 as shown in Figure 4 is provided with a pair of pivoted bafiles 85 and 86 mounted on pivots 81 and 38 whose axes are longitudinally of the truck and the conveyor. One of a similar pair of baffles is shown above the baffles 85 and 86 at 89. It is mounted on a pivot 90 which is at right angles to the pivotal axes of the bafiies 85 and 36. In Figure 1 the bafile pivot 90 is shown and its cooperating baffle on a parallel axis has its pivot indicated at 91. The pivots 90 and 9| have operating levers 92 connected thereto and their ends are provided with small pins 93 which are adapted to selectively be placed in detents 94 formed in plates 95 which are mounted on the distributor feed casing 43. The baffles 85 and 85 are provided with similar means for adjustably retaining them in different angular positions, and it, should be noted that all four of the baffles are independently I operable.

By setting the four baffles just above it is possible to direct the flow of sand received from the conveyor belt 44 to different points about the vertical pivotal axis of the spreader head made up of the disc 59 and radial upstanding blades 5|. If the bafiies are dropped to a vertical position such as that illustrated in connection with the baflies B5 and 86 in Figure 4, the sand will fall downwardly through the feed casing 43 in a substantially uniform manner and all parts of the distributor head will receive equal amounts of sand. This, of course, will result in'the sand being distributed equally in all directions from the vertical axis of rotation of the distributor disc. If by adjustment of the baffles more sand is caused to fall approximately on the left hand side of the distributor disc the sand will be deflected diagonally forwardly and to the left. If the sand is deposited principally on the forward portion of the distributor disc the sand will be distributed diagonally to the right and forwardly, etc. Consequently, a very accurate spreading range and direction can be secured by proper adjustment of the bafiies in the distributor feed chute, and, of course, by controlling the speed of the distributor disc by means of its change speed gearing in the transmission The entire apparatus can be readily mounted upon and removed from a truck of ordinary construction. With the conventional truck models the front bumper is removed and the cross frame which extends between the front ends of the truck frame member can be quickly bolted on and the bracket 39 which supports the rear end of the conveyor section Hi can also be easily connected to the rearwardly intermediate portions of the truck frame side members l0. As brought out above, the conveyor inlet 2| and discharge spout 25 are arranged so that the apparatus can be used with a dump truck and the dump body can be tilted as shown in Figure 7 without disconnecting any parts while at the same time sand can be fed from the dump body to the conveyor when the body is in the position of Figure 1 without any leakage in the connection between the dump body and the conveyor.

I have provided a compact form of pivotal connection for the two conveyor sections in combination with a pivotal pulley support on the same axis as said pivotal conveyor section wherein the weight of the conveyor is entirely removed from the pulley bearing.

The power mechanism, clutch, dual transmission, distributor head and feed as well as the forward portion of the conveyor assembly are supported principally by the subframe made up or" the channels and 41 although there may be an auxiliary support 99, as shown in Figure 4, to support the forward horizontal section of the conveyor assembly. The support 96 extends from the conveyor section I4a to the forward portion of the truck side frame member I0.

The distributor head per se made up of the disc 59 and radial blades 51 has a friction drive connection shown in Figure 9 which will prevent breakage in the event of clogging of the distributor head, and furthermore when the unit is shut off if the distributor head is rotating rapidly it will permit some slippage until the apparatus has come to rest.

Another important feature of the invention is the bafile arrangement in the distributor casing 43 which, as stated above, permits rather precise directional control of the material being spread on the road surface.

t will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

In a road sander for use on a truck having a chassis with a tilting dump body thereon, a conveyor having means for connecting it to said chassis and having an upwardly open inlet end portion, said conveyor inlet being defined by a flared mouth portion, a material discharge spout having means for connecting the same to the lower portion of said dump body, said spout being adjacent to and surrounding a discharge opening in said lower portion of said dump body, said discharge opening being controlled by a slidable plate, a depending flexible and compressible lower skirt portion having means for securin it to the. bottom of said material discharge spout, said spout and said skirt portion being unattached to said conveyor but aligned with the flared mouth portion thereof when said dump body is in the normal or horizontal position, and said flexible and compressible skirt of the spout freely telescoping within said flared mouth portion but automatically separated therefrom when said body is tilted in a dumping position.

EDWARD F. CONNELLY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,231,269 Kindling June 26, 1917 1,305,500 7 Steele June 3, 1919 1,623,001 Gollbach Mar. 29, 1927 1,880,155 Ruth Sept. 27, 1932 1,924,825 Young Aug. 29, 1933 2,162,689 Mayfield June 20, 1939 2,190,863 Dance Feb. 20, 1940 2,224,789 Kurtz et a1 Dec. 10, 1940 2,256,655 Stewart Sept. 23, 1941 2,323,262 Warren June 29, 1943 2,368,470 Hopkins Jan. 30, 1945 

